


Dark Eyes, Flaming Eyes

by Ren_berries



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Arranged Marriage, Eros Katsuki Yuuri, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Historical Fantasy, Historical Inaccuracy, Historical References, Hurt/Comfort, Ice Skating, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Marriage of Convenience, Matchmaking, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Poor Victor Nikiforov, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Unreliable Narrator, so much pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2019-01-07 13:06:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12233457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ren_berries/pseuds/Ren_berries
Summary: His eyes are the color of the earth after rain, of polished mahogany, of chocolate, of dark honey. Victor could describe the prince’s eyes a million different ways and none of them would be an adequate portrayal to the fiery beauty framed between those long black eyelashes.Victor is a king, and Yuuri a prince. For an alliance, they are going to be married.It is not love at first sight.





	Dark Eyes, Flaming Eyes

_“Dark eyes, flaming eyes_

_they implore me into faraway lands_

_where love reigns, where peace reigns_

_where there is no suffering, where war is forbidden. . .”_

_Dark Eyes_

_~~_

 

With every destroyed city, Victor can feel another piece of him chip away. With every pillage, he can feel the despairing cries of those dying. With every murder, he feels impatience eating at him to find those barbarians whose actions are so cruel. 

The world is on his shoulders, and the public’s eyes follow him with every move. Victor does all he can, but still it is not enough.  Victor pushed the reports away from himself, his head suddenly aching, body stricken with exhaustion, and slumped onto his desk.

  
“–I took the liberty of talking to ambassador–“

Victor rubbed his temples. How long has Yakov been here again, Victor thought. Surely he hasn’t been talking this whole time since the court was dismissed, that was what, two hours ago? Victor glanced at the clock. One hour, then.

What _was_ he rattling on about anyways? Victor finally looked up from the papers lining the round table.

Yakov clearly noticed his lack of attention, by the look he is giving Victor. “Vitya.” Yakov sighs with exasperation, Victor smiles sheepishly. It doesn’t help.

“As I was saying, we need to make an alliance. Unfortunately, we’ve already given the majority of tokens and boons to our other allies. There is nothing we can give the Eastern Empire,” Yakov says grimly. “Unless you’re willing,”

Victor crooks his head like Makkachin does when he’s confused. “What do you mean by ‘willing’, exactly?” Victor said with a wary look in his eyes.

“Marriage.” His advisor says. Victor’s eyes widen in enragement, and he opens his mouth to argue when Yakov interrupts him. “My King, listen to me. We have alliances with the nearly all of the four Kingdoms, except for Acadia whom we have been working to accomplish ties with for years, but the only thing that interest them is our army and trade and these are things we cannot give freely at the state of our country, what with the rebellion. The Eastern Empire has large armies and dedicated soldiers, they are near constantly neutral and they have two heirs,” Yakov explains to him, nearly out of breath. He leans toward Victor to implicated the importance of his next statement.

“They have heirs, a daughter training to rule Oyashima, and a younger son whom I have heard is intelligent, and exceedingly loyal to his family,” Yakov said. “A son who is single.” Victor backs away and out of his chair.

“No,” Victor tells him quietly from the other side of his desk. “this is why Yuri is my heir, Yakov. I told you and I will tell you again, I refuse to marry,” He says, nearly hissing.

“Victor, I plead you. Just think about it, they have power, they have trade. If we had their power, we find all those who would oppose your rule,” Yakov walks closer to him, and looks down into Victor’s eyes. “With their help, we could find the people who murdered your parents,” Victor stills.

The King of Rus is silent for a long while. Yakov is nearly holding his breath waiting for the answer.

“Fine.” Victor says, not meeting Yakov’s eyes. Despite quietness of the statement, it is heard clearly in the silence of the room. The king slips back into his desk chair, stunned, and unable to fully comprehend the weight behind the words just spoken.

Yakov stares at him in approval. “I shall start on the paperwork then,”

 

~~

 

Yuuri stares at the paper in pure fear. They are written in the imperial language of the Great Kingdom of Rus, and despite learning said language Yuuri cannot seem to understand what is written. His vision swims and Yuuri realizes he hasn’t breathed for a awhile, and takes a deep breath.

His vision does not clear.

“Oh my child, I am so sorry,” Says Emperor Toshiya, his father. “this is not what  wanted.” Consort Hiroko looks to be in deep pain at the prospect of Yuuri’s leave.

Yuuri stared back at his parents uncomprehendingly. _What?_

Hiroko looks at him sadly. “The Great King of Rus has specifically asked your hand in marriage,” She says with a straight face that quickly breaks into fat tears. “Oh, my baby I am so, so sorry!” Yuuri still has yet to understand what is happening. Perhaps he’s in shock. Emperor Toshiya rubbed his mother’s back comfortingly.

Yuuri belatedly realized that he has started to cry, too. The same tears as his mother, a rather unfortunate trait to share, really.

“But, what? I don’t understand,” Yuri shook his head. Mari looks at him with pity and anger, angry not at him but at the situation, at the man who would steal her brother. In fact, Mari is clenching her fists tightly and Yuuri knows she is seconds from punching something.

Hiroko hiccups. “Can’t he refuse?” She asks Toshiya desperately. Toshiya gave a pained look and didn’t meet her eyes.

“My dear,” starts Toshiya. “the repercussions of such a refusal is beyond our comprehension. The Great Kingdom of Rus has power far greater than what we wield. It would not be wise to fight against them.”

The Katsuki family says nothing. They know they are defeated.

Yuuri can’t ask that of them, he can’t risk the lives of thousands for refusing this proposal. Yuuri should feel honored, instead he feels disgust curling in his core, twisting and worsening his anxiety. Say he were to refuse, what would the great King do? The King known for his cunning and clever strategies, his unending power. 

The man who, if not respected, is feared most throughout the four kingdoms.

Yuuri went back to staring at a very interesting speck of dust on the chabudai, his mind made up.

He was getting married.

Yuuri, sweet, shy, _weak_ Yuuri was getting married to the most feared man in the entirety of the four kingdoms.

 

~~

  

“He’s only eighteen, Yakov. You really want me to marry someone just out of their childhood?” Victor demanded, irritated. Victor rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly, hoping to stave off a headache. 

Yakov gave him the heaviest sigh, and started over again. “The prince of Oyashima is a fine age to be married. What matters is the benefits to our army and country, and when you marry Katsuki Yuuri, we will have the support of their entire military, their food, their clothing, everything. And when we get their resources, we will be able to defeat anyone who dares threaten Rus,” Yakov breathed in deeply before continuing. “This will allow us to find those bastard Bolsheviks,”

“Vitya, if we can get this to work, our entire country will be safe from any threat and foe. We would officially be the most powerful army, and it’s a lie if you think we can defeat all these barbarians threatening our country.”

Victor sighed, pacing anxiously. Yakov was right; all of the rebels, revolutionists, barbarians, all of Rus´ enemies were getting confident. If Victor had the power gained from the royal Katsuki family he could not only protect many more of his towns, but also provide the homeless with more resources. And the new ruler over in Acadia – Jean, Jack, something with a J, Victor thinks – was reportedly cocky and brash, which worried Victor.

Sighing again, Victor sat down at his desk heavily, burdened by the responsibilities that were thrust upon him long ago, when he was just a child.

“Alright. But let them ultimately decide. We don’t need them thinking we’re going to start an unnecessary war.” Victor said sternly to his advisor, effectively dismissing him with a slight wave.

Victor rested his head in his hands, heavy with thoughts of marriage and war. He thought of his mother, nights spent upon her lap as she pretended to not be miserable. As she pretended not to despise his father.

Ekaterina was brought over from the Kingdom of Thule, from Anglia, and married to Victor’s father, Petyr Nikiforov, and she hated him with every fiber of her heart. The only time Ekaterina was ever kind to his father was when Victor was in the room, or they were in public. During the winter season and into summer, she would stay in one of the royal palaces down in Sochi, where she could laze on the beach and forget about her husband.

(It probably didn’t help Petyr Nikiforov had several mistresses, too)

Victor has stayed there several times, mostly whenever a noble or someone of that sort started a rumor that the royal family didn’t get along, in the pretense that it was a family summer vacation of a sort. The entire time Victor had stayed with his mother, while his father hid away in his study, attending to the never-ending list of duties for the king.

He sighed. Victor had hoped that he would never have to marry, even tried to avoid the complexities of arranged marriages by making his half-brother, Yuri Plisetsky, his heir.

Now look where that got him.

 

~~

  

“Yuuri, are you sure?” His mother asked, sadly. Yuuri said nothing, only solemnly dipping the brush into the ink, and wrote his acceptance of marriage.

Anxiety clutched his breath tight, and his vision spun despite the fact that he was kneeling. Yuuri quickly put the brush down before his shaking hands dropped it, and allowed the messenger to take it.

This was it, Yuuri thought, the last moment of my freedom. He remembered all those days spent learning about the many other countries outside of his own. Learning strange customs and languages, and now, Yuuri would have to give up his entire culture, just because the Rus kingdom was more powerful.

Yuuri wanted to be angry, so extremely angry, but alas, it was done, and at the very least his people were safe.

But no one said Yuuri had to love the king, or his country.

Yuuri’s family stayed quiet in thought, until Mari broke the silence to leave the room and smoke a pipe, stomping all the way.

Before she left the room, Mari turned to Yuuri, “If that king ever hurts you, you tell me and I’ll bring his kingdom to its knees, got it?” Mari threatened. Yuuri smiled slightly, and knew that though she wasn’t the Empress yet and couldn’t technically issue that order, it wouldn’t matter. Not to Oyashima and its loyal inhabitants.

Emperor Toshiya sat up to leave as well. “I’ll go start the travel preparations. You’ll need to leave as soon as possible,” Because Rus wanted their manpower immediately, Yuuri remembered, and frowned bitterly. Toshiya saw, and placed on his shoulder tenderly. He looked as if he wanted to say more to Yuuri, but he only smiled sadly.

“You make your country proud, Yuuri.” Toshiya said, and left. Yuuri’s eyes widened.

His vision blurred and Yuuri realized he had tears threatening to fall. He blinked them back hurriedly.

“Oh, Yuuri, come here,” His mother said, patting the spot next to her.

Yuuri was in danger of fainting. His breathe refused to come out evenly and hysteria rose. Yuuri shuffled next to his mother and took deep breathes. They said nothing for a while, simply sitting on the tatami in silence, Yuuri’s mother holding his hand as if to anchor him, afraid to break the stillness of the room, to break the fragile veil separating them from reality.

 And they sat together until dark, talking about everything and nothing, carefully avoiding the subject of Yuuri’s leaving.

  

~~ 

 

Yuuri grabbed a set of his robes from the travel bag, rubbing the satin material between his fingers.

 _I used to wear this when I went out into town with Yuuko in the spring,_ Yuuri thought sadly. _We had so much fun then, chasing the gulls along the beach, and playing tag_. He saw another article of the clothing in the chest and Yuuri grinned.

It was an ice skating costume. One of his favorite ones, blue and fiery, with a tall white neck.

Yuuri gently pulled it out as well, marveling at how it shimmered in the light of his room. Clutching the clothing to his chest, Yuuri sat on the futon and curled into himself, his nostalgic grin diminishing.

And he allowed his tears to fall, for the first time since he’d been officially engaged. Weeks of pent up fear, dread, and despair rose up in him and spilled over the edge, and he sobbed into the clothing he held.

I’m leaving, it occurred to Yuuri, I’m getting married to someone I don’t know, in a foreign land, where I may never be able to play in the grass with Phichit or Yuuko again, I may never see the beautiful mountains of Oyashima, or soak in the hot springs in the palace. Hot tears rolled down Yuuri’s face, and he curled onto his side on the bed, bringing his knees to his chest. And Minako, she must be so angry, her star pupil, gone.

He won’t even be the prince of Oyashima anymore, Yuuri realized, not really. Once he gets married to the king, any birth right he had will be gone, everything he’s grown up to be won’t matter, everything he’s worked so hard for, his studies, working with his people, everything, gone. Yuuri’s loyalties would be forcefully shifted.

And with those realizations, Yuuri cried even harder, panic preventing his breath, and he tried desperately to breathe. His anger rose in him, and Yuuri vowed that Rus will never be home. Yuuri knew that no matter what, Oyashima and his people will be his priority.

Yuuri decided, then and there, he’ll marry for his home, but he doesn’t have to love his husband’s country, or his future husband. 

Yuuri sat up when his breathing at last returned, quickly grabbing some simple and comfortable clothing and his skates, and ran to his private ice rink.

Yuuko lounged at the front of the rink, laying on the floor comfortably and reading a book, simultaneously soaking up the early autumn sun. Upon seeing Yuuri, she jumped and waved excitedly.

“Yuuri! I thought you would come here,” She told him happily. “I just redid the ice too! Come on!”

Yuuri smiled fondly, and for what may be the last time, they skated together happily on the fake ice, giggling and trying to make each other fall.

After a while, they slowed down to making small figures upon the ice, not saying anything. 

Yuuko bit her lip. Hesitantly, she looked up at Yuuri and asked him quietly.

“You’re really leaving?” After a moment, Yuuri nodded, carefully not meeting her eyes.

An uncomfortable silence laid over the rink. Yuuko nervously swung her arms.

“Um, I wanted to tell you until I knew for sure, but because you’re leaving so soon I might as well,” Yuko grabbed his hand comfortingly, and he met her eyes. She looked sad, but also excited. “I think Takeshi is going to propose,” She told him.

Yuuri’s eyes widened. “Really? Yuuko that’s great!” Yuuri told her excitedly. They clasped hands and spun on the ice together cheerfully. 

Yuuri excitedly asked her questions, such as ‘will you say yes’ and ‘how do you know’, and she elatedly answered each of his questions. (The answers being that Takeshi is amazingly obvious, and of course she’ll say yes.) 

They joked around some more, and Yuuri was utterly grateful for the joyful company, almost no mention of his upcoming marriage and instead focused on his time with his childhood friend. Spending time skating and simply being together had him relaxed enough to say “Well at least one of us has a real proposal,” Yuuri told her dryly. Yuuko look ready to hit him.

“Well at least one of us is marrying a king,” She countered back at him. 

“Well at least one of us knows the person we’re marrying,”

Yuuko opened her mouth to make another remark, but she couldn’t think of anything else. She frowned, and then tackled Yuuri in a hug.

“Ack! Yuuko what?!” Yuuri gasped out.

“I don’t want you to leave!” Was all she said, and grabbed on tighter like she used to with her stuffed animals, almost choking him to her chest.

I don’t want to leave either, was what Yuuri didn’t say. Please don’t let me leave.

But all Yuuri did was pat her back comfortingly. They stayed on the ice for a long time, reluctant to leave the sanctuary of their rink, the place they had met and played when things were simple and they were young.

 When they finally got off the false ice, it was time for dinner, and Yuuri decided, if this was his last dinner here in Oyashima, he’s going to spend it with everyone.

That night, Yuuri dined with his family, his friends, Yuuko and Phichit, and all of the other servants, whom he has known since he was a child, despite the improper act of servants feasting with the upper class. Yuuri didn’t care, they were all family.

 _I’m going to miss this,_ Yuuri thought, looking around at all the familiar faces, faces he’s known his entire life, walls he seen age and be remade. A stain on the tatami, where he’d accidentally spilt ink everywhere and no matter what the servants did to clean it, the stain wouldn’t be removed, until the royal Consort Hiroko simply told them not to worry.

The chatter around the room turned to white noise.

  _I’m going to miss you all so, so much._  

 

~~

 

“You’re getting married?!” His heir and half-brother, Yuri Plisetsky, screamed at Victor from the doorway.

Victor jerked awake.

“What?” He asked blearily, rubbing his eyes and rising from his bed.

Yuri scowled, stomped over to the bed and started hitting him awake. “Why!? You already have an heir!” Yuri cried angrily.

Victor grabbed his brutal fists, preventing any more hits. Lord, the kid could pack a punch, despite his ten years of age.

“Yura, calm down,” Victor tried to say. Yuri only tried hitting him again, but was unable to pull his fists out of Victor’s grasp, and proceeded to kick him.

In the end, a servant heard the commotion and as pre-instructed, had grabbed Yuri’s terrifying tutor Lilia to take him to his first lessons of the day, Yuri kicking and screaming the entire way.

Victor sighed, saw the time on the clock telling him exactly how early it was. Remembered a time long gone by when he could sleep in, when more wars weren’t on the brink, when bandits and barbarians didn’t try and destroy his home.

When his parents were alive, and he wasn’t King.

Victor winced. Such unpleasant thoughts, so early in the morning? He sighed and got out of his bed. No use sleeping now.

Time for more ruling, fighting, and of course, loneliness.

Such is the life of kings.

 

~~

 

Yuuri was escorted carefully through the crowded docking station, his guards surrounding him from all sides, protecting him from the heaps of men and women.

There had been quite an uproar about Yuuri marrying the Rus’an king. His countrymen, his amazing citizens, didn’t want their prince to be forced into marriage, especially to a king known to be ruthless and cunning. A man known to be the bane of all armies. Yuuri felt honored to be so loved by the people of Oyashima, but their anger only made him sadder about leaving, and Yuuri felt their rage and sorrow stronger than his own.

Yuuri stepped onto the threshold of the ship’s loading stairs, his soldiers having left him at the edge. Yuuri turned to stare at the people watching his departure, and stood tall. Meeting the fury and grief filled eyes of his countrymen, Yuuri bowed a final farewell to the people of Oyashima, attempting to portray a strong façade for the comfort of his country.

As Yuuri settled into his cabin that night, he paced and worried himself sick, about the king, about the future of Oyashima, about everything.

That goddamn _king_. That king, whom had all but ordered Yuuri to marry him, to leave his home.

Yuuri wanted to scream in frustration, wanted to run and never come back.

Tiredly, the prince slumped down upon his temporary futon, tired, _so very_ tired, and yet the real journey had yet to begin.

  

~~

 

Victor wrapped his hands together on his desk, and glared at the paper sitting innocently in front of him.

_He accepted._

Sitting upon Victor’s desk sat the confirmation of their, his and Katsuki Yuuri’s, proposal of marriage. The king of Rus and the prince of Oyashima were officially betrothed.

 _Fuck_.

Now that Victor knew it was happening, that there was no way to bush it off, ignore the glaringly obvious, the reality of it dawned on him. Victor actually thought that, perhaps, the Katsuki family would refuse. It wasn’t like they needed to marry each other, Victor already had an heir, and Victor had made sure that _Yakov_ made sure to give the other royals the decision.

Taking this information into play, if the prince had agreed, and the fact that Victor had given them the choice, did that mean the prince actually wanted to marry him? It’s likely the prince is marrying him for his power, although from what Victor knew the royal family of Oyashima weren’t the type of royals who used others. They actually tended to be more honest, which was refreshing when Victor had been there last, when he was a child.

The last time Victor was in Oyashima, he was four years old, and he and his parents had traveled to give their respects to the Katsuki’s newborn son.

Victor hardly remembers the occasion at all, thankfully. At least he won’t be associating his new fiancé with a baby he’d once met.

Victor greatly did not want to deal with these thoughts, so he snuck to his bedroom, grabbed his skates and ran to the one room in the entire palace that barely anyone ever went, a small ballroom that no one used anymore because of its strange placement in the western wings, and smaller size.

Reaching the ballroom, Victor smiled gratefully at the sight of the artificial ice made from lard and several salts that the servants quietly and dutifully attended to. He bent down to tie his skates, and stepped onto the sleek surface.

And for the first time in weeks, Victor’s shoulders unclenched, his near constant headache abated at last, and he was finally Victor; neither King nor betrothed man, he was free in every way when he skated.

That night, Victor skated until the sun had gone and come back. It was only when the sun peak thing through the wide windows that he even realized he’d danced the night away, and had promptly snuck into bed.

 

~~

 

Yuuri woke to the wind loudly beating against the rocking carriage windows. Faintly, streetlights shown through into the carriage, allowing Yuuri to see the interior, and Phichit, his personal attendant, asleep across from himself. He sat up to watch the foreign city go by.

White. Pure white.

The buildings were only faintly seen through the haze of snow. The wind continued its angry thrashing against the sides of the carriage, strong enough to jerk and shake it.

Was this a blizzard, Yuuri thought to himself, because if it isn’t, he’d hate to see a real one.

Yuuri attempted sleep, but it was simply too cold for him to rest. It seemed that no matter how many blankets he curled up in, he was never warm enough now. How much longer am I to be in this stupid carriage, Yuuri wondered. It’s been so long since he’s slept in a proper bed.

Yuuri’s bones deeply ached from the low temperature.

The carriage was suddenly jerked to the side by the wind and Yuuri threw a hand against the door to steady himself. Four more hours of this before he was at the next rest stop. Four more hours north, where it would be even colder, and then even farther north, where the palace was located.

The wind howled.

The prince wondered what the earth was trying to tell him through the mournfully colored snow, and angry winds.

Yuuri’s face was reflected against the window glass, and he noted his now pale and exhausted face. He looked thinner, weaker, and as if he hadn’t seen the sun in years, which wasn’t entirely an untrue observation. He’s been traveling to St. Petersburg for almost a month, first on a boat for a day or so, and then weeks confined to carriages and sometimes trains. Yuuri felt sick. When was the last time he’d walked anywhere?

Oh, what he would give just to see the sun and earth, just for a moment, instead of this carriage.

Yuuri humorlessly snorted at his gaunt, mirrored face. Some descendant of Amaterasu he was.

 

~~

 

Victor stoically stood in front of the large palace doors, surrounded by several of his guards, his personal advisor Yakov, Georgi, his ambassador, and his heir, Yuri. As much as he would have liked to open his future spouse with a smile and open arms, it was cold, and he had war requisitions he needed to attend to, and a thousand other matters. He really didn’t have time for this.

Victor frowned slightly. He also wasn’t particularly interested in meeting a complete stranger who would no doubt try and take away any free time he had, little amount that it was. Victor fiddled with the sword in his hands, idly wondering why he even needed it. With the sword and the large embroidered cape he wore, Victor thought he looked needlessly intimidating.

“Don’t be nervous, Vitya! Katsuki is very kind, if a little shy,” Georgi said, attempting an uplifting tone. It didn’t really work.

“Pfft, from what I’ve heard, he sounds like a big cry baby,” Yuri said scathingly. Yakov glared at the prince.

“Don’t say such things Yura! That is inappropriate for a prince!” Yakov berated him.

Victor tuned them out, knowing they could go on forever before someone could stop them. Meanwhile, Victor contemplated his betrothed.

Would he be kind, just as Georgi has said? Or was he a ‘cry baby’ as Yuri had put it?

Was he beautiful? Did he like dogs? Or ice skating, for that matter?

Would he let Victor continue skating?

To be honest with himself, the only thing Victor could ask for was someone who wouldn’t try and butter him up with empty praise, try to use him, or disrespect his country.

But, what Victor feared most, what he truly feared, was if his future husband would hate him, just as his mother did his father.

Victor wondered if he would give cause to his husband to hate him, just like his father did to his mother.

  

~~

 

Yuuri was lucky, growing up. His parents were happy together, the few arranged marriages that ended happily, and their genuine love and respect for each other was part of the reason Mari and himself grew up to be equally loving people.

(Even if Mari denied it.)

He smiled ruefully. Yuuri hasn’t even reached his destination, and he already feels like they’ve been years apart.

For once in his life, Yuuri is jealous of his sister. Because she was first born, she gets to stay in Oyashima, and one day rule over the country. Yuuri frowned at himself. No, he shouldn’t be jealous, ruling is hard and he would never have the nerves for it. But secretly, ever so secretly, Yuuri wishes he could stay, no matter the consequences.

 “Your highness?” One of the soldiers of Rus asked, part of the small group of soldiers sent to protect and escort him. Yuuri blinked, looking away from the window of his room at the Inn. “it’s time to leave now,” The soldier said, “are you ready?”

No.

“Yes, I’ll be down shortly.” Yuuri said, pleasantly as he could.

 

~~

 

 Yakov and Yuri were still arguing, somehow. Victor sighed, utterly bored and slightly cold. Weren’t they supposed to be here by now?

 It is very late, and it has gotten increasingly cold.

 Victor resisted the urge to run to his ice rink, where he could skate to his heart’s content, but alas, he has to wait for his betrothed in freezing weather. Victor sighed once more, and was about to ask Georgi if he was sure they’re coming today, when the palace gates opened.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of DEFE. This fic was inspired by the 2012 Anna Karenina, mostly the aesthetic and music in it though. (don't worry, no one is dying at the end of this story)
> 
> The quote is from the Russian folk/caberet song "Dark Eyes" (Ochi chernye)
> 
> This fic is going to be a huge mashup of history and some fantasy element, such as the Bolsheviks reference and also that the world is comprised of four major kingdoms. 
> 
> Rus/Rus'an = Alternate/historical name of Russia. Ruled by Victor.
> 
> Oyashima = Alternate/historical name of Japan, meaning eight islands. Ruled by Katsukis.
> 
> Acadia = Alternate/historical name of Canada, mostly used by the French. Ruled by JJ.
> 
> Thule = Alternate/historical name of Sweden (latin/poetical). Ruled by Chris. 
> 
> These kingdoms do not cover only the area of their origin name. Rus covers where Russia would be, but also the majority of surrounding areas as well. Thule is the united kingdoms, and into Asia Minor. Oyashima is Japan, but also parts of China and other asian countries, such as Korea and Thailand, etc. Acadia is Canada, and surrounding areas (not too much though, some of it is undiscovered/doesn't exist). 
> 
> This is a very, very vague map, but hopefully it helps. No specific time period either, but I imagine it looking very Imperial Russia (like in the 2012 Anna Karenina).
> 
> Also, when Yuuri mentions 'Amaterasu', he means the Japanese sun god/goddess that the royal family is believed to be descended from.
> 
> I also have a Spotify playlist (still adding to it) for this fic which I am very proud of. It's called "Dark Eyes, Flaming Eyes" by atelier.laurel (my studio name).
> 
> My twitter is Ren_berries, and my tumblr is also ren-berries. Also, I am very bad at social media.
> 
> Quick note, listening to the playlist in chronological order may also give you an insight of how the fic will play out in the upcoming chapters. . .


End file.
